With fights over toilet paper, countries blaming each other for the coronavirus outbreak, and people shaming other people online, the whole world is clearly in desperate need of one thing: care.
Care would make us stay at home because we want to avoid passing the virus to those around us.
Care would make us buy a reasonable amount of toilet paper and eggs, so there’s enough for everyone.
Yes, we could be a little more caring to other people during this trying time, even if it’s in the form of an emoji.
Everything About the ‘Care’ Reaction That You Can Use in FB Now
Facebook has officially unveiled its new ‘Care’ Reactions for both Facebook and Messenger, so netizens can show support for others while they’re apart.
On Facebook, the ‘Care’ reaction depicts a smiley face character hugging a heart:
Conversely, on Messenger, you can now change the existing ‘Heart’ response to a purple, beating-heart animation.
According to TechCrunch, this “Care” reaction, is the first addition to the list of reactions since it was expanded from the simple “like” button back in 2015.
Young reader: You mean there was a time where people could only like a post?
Ah, the innocence of youth.
As you know, the other reactions could be used to express love, laughter, sadness, anger, and awe.
So, why the addition of the new “Care” reaction?
A Way To Show Support
As you may have guessed, it was introduced during the Covid-19 outbreak for a reason.
“We’re launching new care reactions on Facebook app and Messenger as a way for people to share their support with one another during this unprecedented time,” spokesman Alexandru Voica tweeted.
“We hope these reactions give people additional ways to show their support during the #COVID19 crisis”.
Unfortunately, the ‘Care’ reaction is only available in certain countries like the US, Spain, France, and a few others at the moment.
And yes, Singapore is one of them.
“It will only start rolling out globally next week, and then you can use it to react to posts, comments, images, videos, or other content on the app and Facebook.com,” Voica said.
Facebook is adding new react emoji “care” which will be rolled out next week. Some countries got it this week. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JEURpbJfpO
— ReyDominic Vladimr ? (@ReyVispoPH) April 29, 2020
Sure, this move won’t buy food or provide jobs for anyone but, as simple as it sounds, it reminds us to do one very important thing during this crisis:
Stay Connected & Be Empathetic
Isolation and an extended period of time indoors can get to anyone, which is why it’s so important to stay connected to our family and friends.
More than anything, treat others with care during this pandemic. Everyone is stressed at the moment, and fighting or shaming each other online isn’t going to help the situation.
If a social media group that once shared users’ data without their consent understands the importance of empathy right now, surely we can too.